1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the multiple connections of electrical equipments. More particularly, this invention relates to a technique for providing multiple electrical connections with extremely high current and reliability ratings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Current rating and operation reliability of an electrical connection is dependent upon the electrical contact pressure between the contacting elements. Present multi-pin electrical connectors consist of male-female pairs in which each pair has its own spring loading to provide the mechanical pressure needed to establish proper electrical connection. To hold the over-all size of a multi-pin connector to required dimensions, it is often necessary to minimize pin space requirements. In order to accomplish this, each pin-spring combination is designed as a fine structure and built to tight tolerances. Reduction of spring tension and pin wear, which effect these tolerances, results in the most common cause of connector failure - loss of electrical contact between male and female pins. As the number of pins in the connector is increased, tolerances become more critical and its reliability decreases (failure rate increases). This decrease in reliability is two-fold; the pins are more subject to damage and the over-all reliability decreases with the increase in the number of pins. Therefore, it is highly desirable to have an arrangement in which a single force assures uniformly high contact pressures in a high density multi-contact connector.